Interests Spark
by charrrmed
Summary: Mason catches Bonnie's interest, and when Damon notices that the feeling is mutual, he makes it his business to warn the werewolf away from the witch. Bonnie overhears and wants an explanation as to why it's any of Damon's business who checks her out.


**Summary**: Mason catches Bonnie's interest, and when Damon notices that the feeling is mutual, he makes it his business to warn the werewolf away from the witch. Bonnie overhears and wants an explanation as to why it's any of Damon's business who checks her out.

Timeline: Plan B AU where Mason does not know Katherine.

**A/N**: This was written for the Bamon Drabble Party on lj.

**The Prompt**: Damon spots Mason checking out Bonnie (rather lustfully) and warns him away from his "judgey little witch." Bonnie overhears and wants an explanation as to why it's any of Damon's business who checks her out. Bonus points for Stefan teasing his brother about being jealous of a werewolf.

Disclaimer: The characters are not my property.

Bonnie jumped down from the moving truck she and her dad had used to pick up some furniture for the upcoming masquerade ball.

"I'm gonna find some people to help carry the things inside," her dad said as he threw her the keys.

"Okay," she said lightly with a shrug. She smiled as she watched him go inside. She had at first debated volunteering when Elena had called her. After what she had been through with Caroline becoming a vampire, Carter's death, and hearing that Caroline had also tried to kill Matt, she had just wanted to stay holed up in her room. She shouldn't have made Caroline the ring so soon. But Elena had promised her that Caroline had not signed up, so she had tentatively agreed to come. Tentative agreement had turned to slight happiness when her dad had told her that he had signed up also. This would at the very least give her something light to think about.

She unlocked the double back doors and climbed into the truck with an unladylike grunt. With great effort, she pulled one of the folded tables to the edge in order to ready it for whoever was coming to get it. As she carefully jumped down while holding on to the table with one hand, she chastised herself for not using her power to pull it. When her feet touched the ground, what she had been trying to avoid happened: the table started to fall over. She let out a little squeak as her wrist started twisting under the weight. Right as she was about to put her power to use, a voice sounded behind her.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah!"

For some reason, that prompted Bonnie to start screaming at what was happening, her face grimacing in preparation for the noise that would result when the table fell over. However, arms covered in grey sleeves that did nothing to tame the muscles underneath reached above her to keep this from happening.

"Got it!"

Bonnie laughed and ducked her head to step out from under him. When she lifted her head, she saw a masterpiece smiling wide at her. Her laughter froze into an open-mouthed smile.

"How'd you get stuck doing this by yourself?" he asked with amusement.

"Uh," Bonnie said, words escaping her. What is wrong with her? This man is about thirty. "Um," she said, flipping her hair as her breath came out in shallow puffs. If she stuttered one more time, she was sure this man, this _adult_ man, would know there was something wrong with her. "I didn't get stuck with it," she said, briefly looking at the table in his hands. "My dad just went inside to get some people to help, and I thought I'd get the table ready," she said with a helpless shrug. Great. She just referenced her _guardian_.

The man nodded and gave her an inquiring look before asking, "Well, wanna help me set it on the ground against the truck? That'll move things along even faster."

"Sure," she said too quickly, her voice too airy. She wished someone else had caught that table. Someone less attractive. She clasped her hands as he scooted the table further onto the edge of the truck.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, sounding normal for the first time since he got there. She placed her hand under the table, and as soon as they lifted it up and took one step from the truck, she was hit by a vision. The scene in front of her changed. She blinked. Everything was tinted a very light purple.

_She was rolled onto her back, infectious laughter escaping unapologetically from her mouth. Masterpiece was in a white shirt, and she splayed her hands on his broad back. He was laughing too right before he pinned her to the bed with the most intense of kisses._

The scene abruptly changed back and Bonnie heard, "Hey! Shit!"

"God," she responded, but it had nothing to do with the table that was falling. She barely registered the fact that, due to her vision, she had stopped doing her part and had left Masterpiece to support the weight of the whole table. No, she was responding to what she had just seen, and because she was trying to get her bearings. She had to readjust to her surroundings and that included the odor. She still smelled the incense that had been perfuming the room in her vision. Triloka Lavender oil. She recognized the smell; she had kept the rest of her grandmother's stock, and she used it from time to time. _And had that been a hotel room?_

As the smell faded, she realized that Masterpiece was letting the table crash to the ground as he stepped back to protect his feet. It veered to fall towards her, and she jumped back in order to let it topple completely. She looked at him, and he had his arms open and eyes wide in question. "Sorry!" she said as she tried to fold her body onto itself. "I'm so sorry; I don't really know what happened." As she spoke, she looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time, like if she stared long enough she could figure out how she would, _maybe_, end up in a hotel room with him laughing her head off as he kissed her.

He looked at the table and shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said as he looked back at her.

She knew he thought she was weird. How many people dropped a table after they had clearly said they were ready and able to carry it? She watched him start to pick it up in order to rest it against the back of the truck, and she took a couple of steps away from him and linked her hands together, her mouth falling open as she silently began to freak out. Considering what her ability to tell the future had consisted of up to this point, she never even entertained the possibility that she could foresee something romantic for herself. She covered her mouth with a hand as her eyebrows tried to reach her hairline.

"Well, there's a crack in it," he announced.

She stopped her freak-fest and whirled to face him, thankful that he was still looking at the table because she was positive that she looked guilty.

He looked up at her with a brilliant smile and said, "Well, since we're going to be the cause of Carol's mini meltdown, we might as well exchange names. I'm Mason. Lockwood." He extended his hand.

She hesitated for a heartbeat. If she touched him she might get another vision, but if she touched him _she might get another vision_. So she shook his hand. "I'm Bonnie. Bennett." Nothing happened.

/

Something _was_ happening, only it was a couple of feet away. Damon was trying to figure out what the hell was going on between the little witch and the werewolf. He was here because Carol Lockwood had happened to be there when he'd told Liz that he would participate in the Lockwood's latest endeavor to show how much money they have. He had been looking for a helping post that would require him to interact with the least amount of people while doing the least amount of work when he had happened to look to his right and saw his attempted murderer jump down from a truck. He had stopped to look at her, to look at the tiny little thing that had tried to kill him. He had seen the table start to fall, but he had not even attempted to go and help. For one he was too far away, and for another he wasn't too sure he could hold a civilized conversation with her _just_ _yet_.

He had seen someone rush to help her, but he had not been too concerned. He almost did a double take when he heard the voice. He barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes when he saw the little witch's reaction to the animal. He had not thought she could be so damn typical. She sure enough never had that reaction to _him_ whereas others have, including her two friends. He had inexplicably grown more and more annoyed at her antics, forgetting the _thing_ was even there. His interest had shot through the roof when she picked up the table and clearly had a vision. Whatever she had seen; it most definitely had not been bad because she didn't look like she was trying to get away from the guy at the moment. And that was not working for him. His hands bunched into fists when she shook his hand, because she didn't want his two attempted murderers knowing each other. First of all, Mason had not even had the balls to try to kill him and Stefan himself. On the other hand Bonnie had, no lame traps necessary. _Second_ of all, he doesn't know what the hell history says about witches and werewolves, but _this_ witch should not be fraternizing with _this_ werewolf.

He put his enhanced hearing to use, because he wanted to be alert if any seed was being planted for any possible future alliance. He heard Bonnie question him about being a Lockwood and therefore Tyler's uncle before offering her condolences for his loss. Damon crossed his right arm, his left hovering next to his cheek. He continued to listen.

"So…are you going to the masquerade ball?"

Damon thought she sounded too hopeful. He did not give her any points for trying to be nonchalant.

"Uh, I didn't really plan to. But I might," Mason smiled. "Are you going?"

Bonnie tried not to read anything into his question. Surely he did not mean that he might be going if _she_ were going. Something occurred to her just then: she did not hallucinate. _She saw the future_. Sure, she did not recognize the clothes she had been wearing, but she had clearly seen her and Mason frolicking on a bed. And it had not been too far in the future. That means…Mason might have feelings for her right now! Does he think she's cute? Sexy, even? Kissable? Is that what he's thinking right now? The possibility made her stomach coil deliciously, and she had the ridiculous urge to flap her hands in excitement.

"I'm definitely going," she said, without thinking.

Damon wondered what the hell was wrong with her voice. It sounded so…flirty. Exactly _what_ had she seen? Something to make her all confident and talk to Lockwood in a come hither voice. It was all he could do not to go separate them right now. The witch hates him. He's fine with that. Hell, sometimes he revels in it. He is _not_ fine with her liking some other supernatural entity, particularly a _werewolf_. He should have been thinking of more ways to get a truce out of her. Now this Mason prick thinks he can just get one? Just like that? Fuck, what if she starts comparing him to Mason? Judgey thinking he should be more like Stefan he can ignore. Thinking he should be like some _surfer_ _werewolf_? It's enough to make him punch someone. Preferably Mason.

Bonnie hoped Mason, she thought his name sounded so strong and sturdy, had not heard the huskiness that had crept into her voice. The only time she ever sounded like that was when she faked being a sex bomb with Elena and Caroline.

Mason flashed her a smile.

"I'm, uh," Bonnie said, starting to walk backwards, "I'm gonna go see what's taking my dad…my father…I'm gonna go see what's taking so long."

"I'll be here," Mason said.

"Yes," she responded, for lack of anything else to say. Silence stretched as she took a couple more steps back before turning around. Walking towards the house, Bonnie was conscious that Mason might have an interest in her butt since he was attracted to her, per her vision, so she took care to keep her spine straight.

She had no idea how right she was.

Mason watched her walk away. He still had a smile on his face. She was beautiful. She was too young. She was also something else. After some seconds of talking to her, his werewolf senses had picked up something that was rolling off of her. He could not name what it was, but he was positive she had something else on her side. His eyes dipped to her hips. He watched until she was out of sight. He shook his head mockingly at himself. What the hell was he doing? This girl, and she is a _girl_, was about high school age. He was not so lucky that she would actually be a young-looking college student. He chuckled at his inappropriateness. He turned to look at the other contents in the truck only to find Damon Salvatore standing at his side and staring at him. He would be a liar if he said his insides did not jump.

"Mason, Mason, _Mason_," Damon broke out suddenly.

The man in question faced him fully, shoulders squared.

"Do we really need more problems between us?" Damon said, narrowing his eyes as if he was sharing a secret with the other man.

Mason did not answer. He was sure the vampire would get to his point soon. He kept his senses on alert in case Stefan was nearby, though he did not smell another vampire in the vicinity.

"Whatever ideas you're getting, drop them," Damon said with a tight smile etched on his face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he answered evenly.

"Why don't we drop the pretenses? I'm talking about the little witch. _Bonnie_."

Mason was surprised. A witch? He had never heard of one of those. "A witch, huh?"

"The town witch, to be exact," Damon said as he circled him. His eyes took on an otherworldly look when he stopped. "I saw you looking at her." His voice was hard.

"And? If she is the town witch, as you say, she sounds like someone I should know." Mason widened his stance and crossed his arms

"And _that's_ where I have a problem."

Bonnie found her father talking bargain deals with some man. She reminded him of the truck and getting help. Her father said yes which she knew meant he would be a while. Excited, she went back outside. It might be awkward trying to make conversation with Mason, but she had knowledge of the future on her side. No matter how long the silence might stretch, she knew he was into her. She wanted to skip outside. When she got to the door, she saw someone talking to Mason. She walked a little close, keeping to the side of the house, hoping Mason would not spot her. As she neared, she caught Damon's last words.

Mason was thinking the worse: that he had to deal with two vampires and a witch. He thought Bonnie was on Damon's side.

"She's not someone you need to know."

"She's working with you," Mason said.

Damon mulled his assertion. "Almost. I mean practically. Her best friend is dating my brother. She's kinda big on rules and order, so one little word from me about how you tried to kill me." He let Mason conclude the rest.

"And what would she say about the fact that you tried to kill me?"

Bonnie raised her brow.

"She'd probably rejoice. But, I _don't_ think she would take too kindly to the fact that you wanted to hurt her best friend. The blond vampire?" he said, oozing self-assurance.

Bonnie had no idea what Damon was talking about. It seems she was more out of the loop than she thought.

"I don't have time for this," Mason said. "I don't want to be fighting with you, Damon. I already said we should be above some old rivalry. You threw that in my face. So I retaliated. You can either fall back, or we're really gonna have a problem."

"I don't take too kindly to threats, Lockwood."

"Neither do I," the blond man said. "Obviously."

"Stay the hell away from the witch. All you need to do," he said with a shrug.

"I won't," Mason said, laying it out.

Bonnie's heart jumped excitedly even as she tried to blend in with the wall to keep from being seen.

Damon narrowed his eyes. "Then you're right. We _do_ have a problem. I'll see you at the ball, tonight."

Mason practically sneered before he walked away. When he told Damon he would not stay away from Bonnie, he did not mean that he was going to try anything inappropriate. He just wanted the vampire to know that he would not _not_ talk to Bonnie if the opportunity arose just because he said so. A witch. A beautiful witch.

Hands on his hips, Damon watched Mason walk away. He needed to plan.

"What the hell was that?" he heard the sharp voice full of judgement behind him. He almost cringed. He took his time turning around.

Bonnie wanted to confront Damon, but she was at a lost as to what to say. Damon warning Mason away from her, for whatever the reason, was simply too weird to fathom, and yet she had witnessed it.

"Well hello," he said lazily.

"I'm not joking around."

"Do you ever?" he retorted sarcastically.

"Damon, what the hell were you doing? Why were you talking to Mason?"

"We happen to go way back," he lied.

"I heard you," she said, crossing her arms and staring him down despite her small stature.

"It was just a friendly conversation," he said lightly.

Bonnie's jaw ticked. She had no idea what had inspired his confrontation. She does not know how he even knew Mason had been talking to her. "Whatever you think you're up too? You need to stop," she said, echoing his words to Mason.

"You said you heard me. Then you must've heard me talk about how he tried to hurt Caroline," Damon said smoothly, positive he was going to tarnish Mason's image in Bonnie's eyes.

"Tell me why he tried to hurt her," Bonnie said which surprised him.

Carefully choosing his words, he said, "She was trying to help Stefan and me out after your new werewolf friend exposed us to Liz Forbes."

Mason was a werewolf. Bonnie shelved the information and said, "And this was after you tried to kill him. Correct? Yeah, I heard that part too," she said when Damon frowned.

"You like him," he said playfully, changing the subject.

"That is completely none of your business."

"What did you see when you touched him?" he cut her off before she could say anything else.

Stefan was looking for his brother since Carol had assigned them the job of sorting out the masquerade masks. He used his hearing to find him and was both surprised and mildly alarmed to hear him speaking to Bonnie.

Bonnie was shocked. "You were _spying_ on me?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Damon scoffed. "You happened to be in my line of sight."

Her jaw set, Bonnie took a step closer to him. "I don't want you in my life," she said in a low, deadly voice. "I don't want you looking at me; I don't want you talking to the people who talk to me. Do you understand?"

Not wanting to hear anymore, Stefan set on finding them before things got out of hand.

"He's a little old, don't you think? Oh come on, Bonnie. I heard the way you sounded when you were talking to him. It was a little embarrassing. Just trying to help you out."

Bonnie was stunned silent for the barest of seconds, barely believing that she's having this conversation with Damon Salvatore. "Your brother is over one hundred years old, and he's dating Elena."

"Stefan doesn't have wrinkles even though he's been trying _very_ hard to get some." Her eyes bore into his. They sparkled and jumped with her utter disdain for him. He did not want them sparkling and jumping for any other reason, especially if they were focused on Mason Lockwood.

"This conversation is over," Bonnie asserted. "Stay away from Mason, or guess who else you're gonna have even more problems with?" she asked with a smirk.

Damon was not smiling _at all_. He does believe the little witch has taken a side. As he watched her walk back to the house, a muscled in his jaw twitched.

"What was that?" came his brother's voice very close behind him. "What were you talking to Bonnie about?"

Damon turned with a smirk on his face. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Uh, I am worried if it means I'm gonna have to save your life. I heard her say you were spying on her, and she warned you to stay out of her life? Why would she say that?" Stefan asked with a little contemplative frown on his chiseled features.

"No reason, Stefan. As always," Damon began dramatically, "I was the one concerned with our fortune while you and Elena were trading I love yous before parting ways."

Stefan ducked his head, nodding at his brother's antics. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw the werewolf who tried to kill us talking to the witch who tried to kill me. And guess what? She likes him. She's _fascinated_ with him. She's on his side, and, yes, she knows he tried to hurt Caroline, but _of course_ all she can focus on is the fact that I tried to kill him first."

"Bonnie has fair judgment," Stefan began.

"I don't want her to be fair; I want her on our _side_!" Damon said heatedly. "I need to wring that truce out of her. I'm going to the masquerade ball tonight."

Stefan sighed. "Don't get on her nerves, Damon."

"But it's what I do best, brother," he said, clapping Stefan on the shoulder. "And I need to move fast. The situation is worse than you think. She apparently had a vision about him. A vision that appeared _very_ good for her and _very_ bad for us."

"If you're right and Bonnie does like Mason, then that's good news."

Damon stared at his brother, already planning to disagree with whatever he said.

"It means she can try to get him to see things our way, meaning she can get him to not come after us. Or maybe I should say she can try to get him to see things _my_ way," he said pointedly.

"You should," Damon said flatly. "I already told him to stay away from her, and he told me a resounding no." His face tightened of its own volition as he recalled Bonnie's parting words. "She can't like him more than us, Stefan. That would be very bad," he said slowly, staring at a point past Stefan's shoulder.

The younger Salvatore contemplated his brother. He knows Damon has a penchant for blowing things out of proportion, but he wasn't sure what his problem was here. Bonnie has no problem with Mason, but she also has no problem with him, so why is his brother getting bent out of shape? He should be highlighting the fact that he still has a card to play with Bonnie. "What's really going on here, Damon?"

Damon widened his arms and stared incredulously at his brother. "Have I been talking to myself this whole time?"

"No, no, no, there's something else. I can't believe you're making such a big deal about Bonnie liking Mason."

"Bonnie liking Mason means Mason gets an alliance with Bonnie. It means there's a big chance of her falling on _his_ side when things go down. It means he gets what _I've_ been trying to accomplish!" he exclaimed. "Are ya still with me?"

Stefan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're…upset that Bonnie likes Mason."

"Welcome," Damon said wryly.

"You're jealous that he has it in good with Bonnie."

Damon's expression became stony.

"You're jealous of a werewolf," Stefan said with a disbelieving smile on his face. "You're jealous of a werewolf you tried to _kill_."

"Careful, Stefan, or I'll be telling Elena you went on permanent vacation," he said, mirth coloring his words.

"I…I can't believe it."

"I can," Damon said. "This is how it always goes. I get saddled with protecting our interests, and you just sit back and make jokes. It's fine Stefan," he said as he started to walk past him, "I'll let you know when everything's worked out. As always."

Stefan contemplated coming to the masquerade ball. He knew Damon was going because Bonnie and Mason would be there. It was not often that he actually wanted to see his brother's dramatics.

The End.


End file.
